As part of the capacity development activities for the Public Financial Management (PFM) Competency Program for Local Government Units (LGU) in Region IV-B, held from May 13-15, 2024, in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, led by Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, the Procurement Service- DBM (PS-DBM) provided an overview of government procurement in a discussion engaging PFM practitioners and LGU budget officers.

Conducted by Executive Director (ED) Dennis S. Santiago, the lecture highlighted the value of PS-DBM’s performance of its mandate, that is, to operate a centralized procurement system of Common-use Supplies and Equipment (CSE) for the whole of government. The key provisions of the Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act, were likewise covered.

Gathering around 500 participants from the provinces of Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, and Romblon, along with representatives from other cities and municipalities in MIMAROPA, the three-day event carried the objective of equipping attendees with knowledge of the PFM system, budgeting track, and public procurement.

PS-DBM recognizes that capacitating PFM practitioners and local budget officers — deemed by Sec. Pangandaman as “the frontliners of delivering quality services to the people” — is crucial in the establishment and implementation of a better public financial management system, which includes a streamlined procurement process.

Also present in the program were DBM Undersecretaries Margaux Salcedo and Wilford Will Wong, Procurement Service-DBM Executive Director Atty. Dennis Santiago, DBM MIMAROPA Regional Director Ricky Sanchez and Assistant Director Michael Lacsama, Systems Productivity and Improvement Bureau Director John Aries Macaspac, and Local Government and Regional Coordination Bureau Director Ryan Lita and Assistant Director Philip Jeffrey D. David.

Anchored on its 12-point agenda in implementing procurement reforms, PS-DBM actively takes part in these engagements that serve as spaces for dialogue — bridging the gap between the agency and its key stakeholders in the regional level, and therefore providing an efficient and seamless delivery of public services nationwide.

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